Suvra Mukherjee (17 September 1940 – 18 August 2015) was the First Lady of India serving from the year 2012 until her death in 2015.

Early and personal life

Mukherjee was born on 17 September 1940 in Jessore District of

Bengal Presidency The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...

(now in

Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mos ...

), and moved to

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

when she was 10 years old. She married

Pranab Mukherjee Dr. Pranab Mukherjee (11 December 193531 August 2020) was an Indian politician and statesman who served as the 13th president of India from 2012 until 2017. In a political career spanning five decades, Mukherjee was a senior leader in the India ...

on 13 July 1957 and the couple had two sons and a daughter. She held two master's degrees, in history and in political science and also taught history and English grammar during the early 1970s in West Midnapore. Mukherjee, was an accomplished singer and a vocalist of songs composed by

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Tagore (; bn, রবীন্দ্রনাথ ঠাকুর; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer and painter. He resh ...

, which are known as ''

Rabindra Sangeet ''Rabindra Sangeet'' ( bn, রবীন্দ্র সঙ্গীত; ), also known as Tagore Songs, are songs from the Indian subcontinent written and composed by the Bengali polymath Rabindranath Tagore, winner of the 1913 Nobel Prize in ...

''. She performed in his dance-dramas for many years in India, Europe, Asia and Africa, as well as being the founder of the

Geetanjali __NOTOC__ ''Gitanjali'' ( bn, গীতাঞ্জলি, lit='Song offering') is a collection of poems by the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore. Tagore received the Nobel Prize for Literature, for the English translation, Gitanjali:''Song Offer ...

Troupe, whose mission is to disseminate Tagore's philosophy through song and dance. The group often rehearsed in her home on Talkatora Road. She passed on her love of classical dance to her daughter,

Sharmistha Mukherjee Sharmistha Mukherjee (born 30 October 1965) is an Indian Kathak dancer, choreographer and politician of the Indian National Congress. Early life and education Born in West Bengal, Mukherjee grew up in Delhi and was educated at St. Stephen� ...

, with whom she also occasionally performed. She was also a painter who participated in both group and solo exhibitions. Mukherjee authored two books: ''Chokher Aloey'' is a personal account of her close interaction with Prime Minister Indira Gandhi, and ''Chena Achenai Chin'' is a travelogue recounting her visit to China. She also supported singer

Kumar Sanu Kedarnath Bhattacharya (born 20 October 1957), better known as Kumar Sanu, is an Indian playback singer. He is known as the King of Melody in Bollywood. He is famous for singing thousands of Bollywood Hindi songs. Apart from Hindi, he has al ...

and released many of his musical albums related Rabindra Sangeet and religious music.

Death

Mukherjee died in a hospital in

New Delhi New Delhi (, , ''Naī Dillī'') is the capital of India and a part of the National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, Parliament Ho ...

, India, aged 74. She had respiratory problems and was treated as a heart patient.

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (; born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician serving as the 14th and current Prime Minister of India since 2014. Modi was the Chief Minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Parliament fro ...

, the Prime Minister of India said: "... (she) will be remembered as a lover of art, culture and music. Her warm nature endeared her to everyone she met". Her friend,

Sheikh Hasina Sheikh Hasina Wazed (''née'' Sheikh Hasina ; ; bn, শেখ হাসিনা ওয়াজেদ, Shēkh Hasinā, , born 28 September 1947) is a Bangladeshi politician who has served as the Prime Minister of Bangladesh since January 2 ...

, the

Prime Minister of Bangladesh The Prime Minister of Bangladesh ( bn, বাংলাদেশের প্রধানমন্ত্রী, translit=Bangladesher Prodhanmontri), officially Prime Minister of the People's Republic of Bangladesh ( bn, গণপ্রজা� ...

who attended the funeral stated: "Bangladesh has lost a great friend and well-wisher with her passing away".

References

Bibliography

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mukherjee, Suvra 1940 births 2015 deaths Singers from Kolkata First Ladies and Gentlemen of India People from Jessore District Indian women classical singers Women musicians from West Bengal 20th-century Indian singers 20th-century Indian women singers Women in West Bengal politics Politicians from Kolkata